And charles m



3 SheeoS- -Sheet 1.

J. E. & 0.1VL EMERSON. BAND SAW MILL.

Patented June 6, 1893.

(No Model.)

(No Model.) I S-Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. E. & 0. EMERSON.

BAND SAW MILL.

No. 499,162. Paten-tedJun'e' 6, 1893( (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. J. E.& 0. M. EMERSON.

BAND SAW MILL.

Patented June 6; 1893.

NITEDI STATES PATENT OFFI E.

JAMES E. EMERSON, OF BEAVER FALLS, PENNSYLVANIA, AND CHARLES 'M.

EMERSON, OF BAY OITY, MICHIGAN.

BAND-SAW MILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 499,162, dated June 6, 1893'.

Application filed January 28, 1893.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, J AMES E. EMERSON, of Beaver Falls, in the county of Beaver and State of Pennsylvania, and CHARLES M. EM- ERSON, of Bay City, in the county of Bay and State of Michigan, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Band-Saw Mills; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our present invention relates to band-sawmills and has for its object certain improvements in construction to dispense with the heavy wheels or drums in common use over which the saw runs, thereby greatly reducing the weight and cost of the structure, preventing the crystallization of the saw produced by the constant flexion of the saw while under tension, and producing a light, efficient and cheap portable or permanent band-saw-mill.

The invention will be fully disclosed in the following specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, Figure 1, represents a side elevation of our improved band-saw mill; Fig. 2, an end View of the same; Fig. 3, an enlarged detail of one upper idler-bracket; Fig. 4, a side elevation of the upper end of the column of the mill-frame and the brackets supporting the idlers; Fig. 5, a top plan View of the friction driving wheels and their supporting frame detached, and Fig. 6, a side elevation of a modified means for applying resistance to the saw.

Reference being had to the drawings and the letters of reference thereon, A indicates the base of the frame, on the upper surface of which are two bosses at at having recesses therein to receive the lower ends of the col- :umns B B, which may be made of timber or ,metal, but preferably of channel iron known :as I beams which may be secured together by crossed tie or brace rods 1) b which are pro-- vided with turn buckles c o to effect their .alignment into parallel vertical planes. On the upper ends of the columns B, B, are socured brackets O, O, which support idlers d d, and on the rear side of the column B is secured a bracket D which supports an idler while it is in motion, and the latter fulcrumed Serial No. 45 9,971. (No model.)

6 on which idlers the band-saw E is supported. The idlers d cl are vertically adj ustable in their brackets O O by the idlers being secured to a frame f which slides in grooves g g in the brackets and are adjusted separately by means of a screw it and hand wheel t', as shown in Fig. 3, or the two may be adj usted synchronously by means of vertical shafts It having miter gear wheels I Z at their lower ends which engage corresponding miter gear wheels m m on shaft n, and are operated by a hand wheel 0. By the vertical adjustment of the idlers cl d the saw is readily and speedily slackened when it is desired to remove a saw, the proper amount of tension applied to the saw to keep it in position, and means provided to accommodate saws varying in length.

To the column B is attached a horizontal 7o arm 10 to which is secured the upper guide q for the saw, and said arm and guide are adjusted vertically on the column to accommodate logs of different diameters by means of a rod r having a miter gear-wheel s at its lower end which meshes with a corresponding Wheel t attached to a rod u provided'with a hand wheel 1; and supported in a bracket to on one side of, the base of the frame.

F indicates the head-block or carriage of ordinary construction and y the lower saw- 7 guide which is secured to an arm 2' attached to the base A. p

G indicates a bracket secured to the front edge of the column A upon which are supported upwardly inclined levers H, H, the former fulcrumed at a and having a revoluble grippingwheel b secured to its inner end to impinge against the outer side of the saw at c and having a revoluble gripping wheel (1 secured to its inner end to impinge against the opposite or inner side of the saw to produce resistance to the saw to keep it taut and straight while passing through timber. The degree of resistance brought to bear upon the saw is regulated in this construction by weights e 6, adjustable upon the leversH H, and by reason of the angle of the levers draw upward upon the saw as well as apply a variable pressure or resistance to the saw.

In Fig. 6 is shown a modified construction of the gripping device, and in which the wheels b and d are supported in frames ff and are adjusted laterally by screws 9' g, and to provide for a variable resistance to the saw, a helically coiled spring h is interposed between the flange 2" and the movable frame f on one side of the saw. Both of the frames f are supported upon plates 76' 7a which in turn must be supported upon or form part of suitable brackets (not shown) attached to the columns B or B.

To remove a saw from the mill the lever H is raised by the arm Z and the lever m fulcrumed at n in the column B and the gripping-wheel d withdrawn from contact with the saw. This lever m and arm Z may also be used to vary the pressure of the wheel d upon the saw and thereby regulate the resistance to the saw, to effect which a rack 0' is attached to the column B, with which the lever m engages and supports the lever H at any desired angle. 7

Below the head-block or carriage F' is a frame I which may be made of timber properly framed and supported upon masonry in a pit below the base A, and upon said frame I aresecured plates p q on which are supported frames 0' r laterally adjustable on said plates by means of screws .9 which engage the frames and flanges t 25 on the plates 1) q.

On the frames r 0" are friction-driving wheels K K mounted to revolve freely in journal boxes u u, and toproduce a varying degree of pressure upon the sides of the saw with which both the wheels K K engage, and to provide or compensate for anyirregularity in the thickness of a saw, or the passage of any substance that may adhere to the saw or fall between the saw and one of the wheels, a helically coiled spring '1) is placed upon one of the screws 8' between the frame 0'' and the flange t which admits of the frame moving back from the saw and is instantly and automatically returned to its normal position in contact with the saw. The spring o maybe placed upon each side of the saw if necessary, but under ordinary circumstances one spring will be suificient. It will be observed that by the friction -driving wheelsdrawing downward on the saw and the gripping wheels resisting the action of the driving wheels, the saw is kept under tension only between these two points, while the remaining portion of the saw is slack.

To .the frame I are attached idlers w and y to prevent the saw Wabbling and keepit in position on the mill. t

L indicates a pulley for driving the mill, and upon it is shown a belt a" which passes over the pulleys b" c on the friction drivingwheels K K to revolve the wheels in opposite direction, and over an idler c to hold the belt in engagement with the pulley c.

In the event of accelerated speed of the saw produced by any cause, such as a soft place in the timber or the saw having passed through the timber, the gripping wheels are liable to bedra wn down suddenly and thrown out of engagement with the saw, but are instantly returned to their normal position by the gravity of the weights. or the resiliency of the spring.

The saw mill thus constructed may be easily dismembered and transported or it may be transported without dismemberment as it is comparatively light, and be placed in position ready for work with very little labor and when in operation the only appreciable tension brought to bear upon the saw is between the driving and the gripping wheels, or that part of the saw engaged in cutting timber and as a consequence the rear of the saw is under comparatively no tension, its fiexion is less than when passing over two drums, and the crystallization of the saw reduced to theminimum. I

We are aware that it has heretofore been proposed to drive a band-saw by applying friction wheels above and below the carriage or table on which the timber is supported, and in the constructiondescribed each pair of pulleys are connected by gearing so as to have simultaneous movement, an upper and lower pulley on the same sidebeing carried in fixed bearings, while the corresponding pulleys are hung on weighted levers to give the necessary frictional pressure. In order to give the necessary:- stiff tension to the saw, it is intended that the lower pair shallbe driven at a rate of speed slightly higher than that of the other pair By this construction the propelling power being applied at two points, above and belowthe carriage or table, it is obvious that the upper pair of friction wheels cannot present resistance to the lower pair and keep the sawtaut while passing through the timber, and therefore other means must be resorted to, namely, driving the lower pair of wheels at a higher rate of speed than theupper pair, the result ofewhich would be that the saw would be drawn between the upper wheels and produce friction on the saw, which wouldjcrystallize the saw more rapidly than the flexion of the saw produced by passingover large wheels. I We are alsoaware that attemptshave been made to take up the slack in a band saw by flexion, which crystallizes the saw, and do not thereforeclaim any such impracticable and destructive means.

Having thus fully described ourinvention, what we claim is- 1 l 1. In a band-saw-mill, the combination of a band-saw, a pair of friction driving wheels laterally, andantomatically and yieldingly adjustable engaging thesaw on both sides and below the head-block, and a pairof adjustable gripping-wheels engaging the saw above the head-block, and means for applying resistance to the sawr y 2. In a band-saw-mill, the combination of a band-saw, a pair of laterally and yieldingly adjustable friction driving wheels engagingthe saw on both sides, means for automatically varying the pressure upon the saw on each side below the head-block, and a pair of gripping wheels above the head-block.

3. In a band-saw-mill, the combination of a band-saw, a pair of laterally and yieldingly adjustable friction driving wheels engaging the saw on both sides, a pair of vertically ad justable gripping wheels, levers for supporting said Wheels and adjustable weights on said levers.

4. In a band-saw-mill, the combination of a band-saw, a pair of friction driving-wheels engaging the saw on both sides, means for applying resistance to the saw, a base, separate vertical columns supported in said base, adj ustable braces for aligning and stiffening the columns and brackets supporting idlers.

5. In a band-saw-mill, the combination of a band-saw, an automatically compensating friction driving mechanism below the headblock engaging and driving the saw on both sides and an automatically compensating gripping mechanism above the head block mounted to move with the speed of the saw.

6. In a band-saw-mill, the combination of a I band-saw, a friction driving mechanism, engaging and driving the saw on both sides a pair of gripping-wheels automatically adj ustable and means for varying the degree of pressure against one side of the saw and throwing and holding the Wheel out of engagement with the saw.

7. In aband-saw-mill the combination of a band saw, a pair of friction-driving wheels engaging and driving the saw on both sides and supported in laterally and automatically and yieldingly adj ustable frames below the base of the mill, and means for applying resistance to the saw above the head-block.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures 

